From knives to knitting needles, they don't get past court officers

The buckle is really a pair of brass knuckles, one of the many dangerous items security in the Lowell-area courts remove from people who walk through the courthouse doors every day, said Chief Court Officer Wayne McDaniel.

Associate court officers are the "gatekeepers" of every courthouse and the first line of defense in keeping the state's courthouses safe, McDaniel said.

"Security of our courthouses is a major priority for the Trial Court," said court spokeswoman Joan Kenney.

McDaniel admits security officers have one of the most important, yet thankless jobs in the courts.

On average, each month, 800 to 1,000 potentially dangerous items are collected by security officers, otherwise referred to as "blue shirts," in the Lowell courthouses (superior, district, juvenile and Ayer District Court), McDaniel said.

Those carrying guns, other than law enforcement in court on official business, must show a firearms identification card and driver's license, or the gun is seized and police are called.

"More egregious items" seized include a wide range of gruesome-looking knives. Even a benign-looking black-handled kitchen knife is considered dangerous.

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McDaniel demonstrates by sliding the knife up his sleeve showing how one person tried, unsuccessfully, to pass through security.

One person brought in, as a joke, a miniature machine gun that was really a lighter.

"The joke was on him," McDaniel said. The item was confiscated.

"We take security very seriously," McDaniel said. "In this day and age, we can't chalk it up to someone being funny. Nothing is a joke."

The reasons people bring these dangerous items into court vary, McDaniel said.

Most items held by security are things people "just forgot" they had on them such as scissors, box cutters and Swiss army knives, McDaniel said.

"People who work at a grocery store carry box cutters to open boxes. Hairdressers carry scissors," he said. "These are everyday items that, on the face of it and when used properly, they are not dangerous. But we can't take a chance. We hold them while the person is in the courthouse."

Jurors who bring knitting needles to kill time while serving jury duty will find them held until they leave. Cameras, camcorders and tape recorders also are held; only approved media members are allowed to bring recorders into the courtroom.

Other people, such as gang members, can try to smuggle in weapons for more ominous reasons, he said.

Some items are confiscated and not given back, but most are held and placed in an envelope. The owner is given a ticket to retrieve the item on the way out of the courthouse. Items that are not claimed are held for 60 days before being destroyed.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, McDaniel said, there has been an increase in resources in court security, with new technology and verbal training on how to diffuse difficult situations. Security officers and court officers are not armed.

Security officers undergo training to learn how to screen people who enter the courthouses by using metal detectors, hand wands, X-ray machines and their own observations, Kenney said.

A Taser was confiscated by security in Ayer District Court after a woman realized the Taser was in her bag, told the officer she forgot something, went outside for a minute and then returned.

The security officer checked outside and found the Taser hidden under an orange cone on the courthouse steps, McDaniel said.

Courts rarely had security until 1993, McDaniel said. At first, security was primarily staffed by the Sheriff's Department. The following year the Trial Court trained its own security staff. Two security officers now staff each of the Lowell-area courthouses.

With people constantly trying to outwit security officers to sneak items into court, McDaniel admits, "We are constantly behind the eight-ball."

Kenney said increased training and updated security measures are a "key part" of the Trial Court's continuing security initiative to safeguard the state's courthouses and protect the public.

New technology for courthouse security usually trickles down from advances in airport security, McDaniel said.

One of the biggest problems in Lowell Juvenile Court is something very low-tech -- a Sharpie marker.

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